The necessary adjustments the Lakers needed to make in order to have a shot in Game 2 against the Spurs were only going to work if they were able to turn in a similar defensive performance that held the Spurs to 37.6 percent shooting in Game 1 of the series.

Since San Antonio used a combination of efficient ball movement and balanced scoring, and got a superstar performance from Tony Parker in the second half, any small improvements the Lakers made on the offensive end were rendered meaningless. As a result, the Spurs cruised to a 102-91 victory that gives them a 2-0 series lead heading back to Los Angeles.

In the first half, it was Kawhi Leonard and Manu Ginobili doing the damage for the Spurs offensively. Leonard had 14 points at the intermission, while Ginobili did what he does, scoring a quick and devastating 12 points while playing just over 10 first half minutes.

Parker then took control in the third, scoring 15 points in the period to extend the Spurs’ lead to as many as 13 points. He added nine more in the fourth, giving him 24 of his game high 28 points in the second half.

The Spurs as a team shot 51.2 percent from the field for the game, including 7-14 (50 percent) from three-point distance.

The Lakers did a decent job of cleaning up their mistakes from the game before in terms of not being so predictable in forcing the ball into the post. Pau Gasol finished the game without a turnover, while Dwight Howard committed five of the team’s 13 it totaled in the game. But even though the spacing was better and the actions before the post entry were more effective, the Lakers have no quickness from their guards on the perimeter, which allows San Antonio to recover and contest shots after doubling the post far too easily.

The Spurs continue to get away with playing Matt Bonner for extended stretches against Howard and Gasol, and have been unable to consistently punish him when he’s on the defensive end. Bonner spent plenty of time fronting the post, and it was effective enough to deter the guards from trying those passes on more than one possession.

Bonner finished with 10 points, five rebounds and three steals in 29 minutes. By contrast, Howard finished with 16 points, nine rebounds, and four blocked shots in 32 minutes. Just one more area where the Lakers should have a much bigger advantage if they’re going to have any chance of winning even a single game in this series.

Meanwhile, there’s more news on the injury front that L.A. will have to deal with in advance of Game 3 on Friday. Steve Nash played 31 minutes and contributed nine points and six assists, but he was laboring just to get up and down the floor, and was clearly limping by the time he checked out midway through the fourth once the game was decided. Nash said postgame he’d have another epidural or two to try to get himself ready for Game 3.

Jodie Meeks sat this one out with an ankle injury, and he’s scheduled to have an MRI to assess the extent of the damage. Steve Blake left late in the fourth quarter with a right hamstring injury, and he’s scheduled for an ultrasound on Thursday.

Ultrasounds and epidurals are supposed to be discussions involving pregnant women, not professional basketball players.

It just shows once again how far off the rails things have gone for the Lakers due to all of their injuries, but should the Spurs continue their high level of play on both ends of the floor, the pain of this season in Los Angeles will only need to be endured for two more games.

The 76ers center made just the All-NBA second team, landing behind the Pelicans’ Anthony Davis. Davis surged after Cousins went down, earning overall credit from All-NBA voters, who were also increasingly likely to view him as a center rather than just a forward.

As a result, Davis made the All-NBA first team at center – costing Embiid about $29 million over the next five years.

Embiid’s contract extension, which kicks in next season, calls for his starting salary to be 25% of the salary cap (the typical max for a player with his experience level). If he made the All-NBA first team, his starting salary would have been 30% of the salary cap .

Though the exact cap won’t be determined until July, here’s what Embiid is projected to earn on his standard max and what he could’ve earned on the super max (with 8% raises in both cases):

Obviously Embiid will still earn a lot of money, and he and Philadelphia have a bright future.

But it’s hard not to think, if Cousins didn’t get hurt, Embiid would be even richer.

HOUSTON (AP)– The Houston Rockets will wear patches on their jerseys to honor the victims of the school shooting in Santa Fe, Texas, on Thursday night in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals against the Golden State Warriors.

The patches will read: “Santa Fe HS.” It’s one of several tributes the team plans following Friday’s shooting. Eight students and two teachers died at the school, located 30 miles from downtown Houston.

The school’s high school choir will perform the national anthem. There will be a moment of silence and a video tribute before tipoff.

Santa Fe’s senior class and administrators have been invited to attend the game as guests of owner Tilman Fertitta. The Rockets also will honor first responders on the court.

Despite trailing 2-1 as the top seed in the Western Conference finals in a season his star deemed “the year,” Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni claimed all the pressure was on Warriors in Game 4.

Of course, nobody believed D’Antoni.

D’Antoni didn’t even believe himself.

He played P.J. Tucker 44 minutes, James Harden 43 minutes, Chris Paul 42 minutes and Trevor Ariza 41 minutes in Houston’s win. That was the first time four teammates played 40 minutes in regulation of a non-elimination playoff game in a half decade.*

D’Antoni’s rotation revealed his desperation to win Game 4. And who could blame him? A 3-1 deficit to this mighty Golden State squad would have been nearly insurmountable.

Not only did D’Antoni lean heavily on his top players, he didn’t even spread around the remaining minutes. Just seven Rockets played in Game 4 – Tucker, Harden, Paul, Ariza, Eric Gordon, Clint Capela and Gerald Green.

How fatigued will those players be in Game 5 tonight?

In the last 20 years, teams have used just seven players in a playoff game 28 times. In their following game, those teams went 10-15. (Two were eliminated.)

Here are the full results:

Teams have used so few players just twice in the previous decade, but the super-shortened rotation was once a D’Antoni specialty. The practice only waned while he was mostly missing the playoffs with the Knicks and Lakers. In fact, 14 of the last 18 times a team used just seven players in a playoff game, D’Antoni did it.

The most recent previous example came in Game 5 of last year’s Rockets-Spurs second-round series. Houston lost by 39 and got eliminated in the next game – which became known for Harden running out of gas.

Will the result be different this time?

The Warriors have their own physical-readiness issues. Klay Thompson and Andre Iguodala are banged up. Golden State coach Steve Kerr should probably tighten his rotation, especially removing Nick Young. It’s not as if the Warriors gave up on Game 4, either. Draymond Green played 45 minutes, Kevin Durant 43, Klay Thompson 39 and Curry 39.

These conference finals are shaping up to be a great battle. It might be one of attrition.